Rep. Nick Begich Ignores Government Shutdown, Pushes Drilling Resolution
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: October 14, 2025
Contact: Anja Semanco | 724-967-2777 | anja@alaskawild.org
Rep. Nick Begich Ignores Government Shutdown, Pushes Drilling Resolution
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Late last week, despite an ongoing government shutdown, Rep. Nick Begich (R-Alaska) introduced a resolution (H.J.Res. 131) to overturn the Biden administration’s Record of Decision (ROD) that provided stronger protections for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This resolution aims to utilize the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to strike Biden’s 2024 Arctic Refuge action, in a symbolic attempt to fast-track Arctic Refuge drilling.
“The introduction of this resolution shows that some lawmakers would rather do anything but work across the aisle to end the government shutdown,” said Andy Moderow, senior director of policy at Alaska Wilderness League. “Congress should take a cue from the free market—big banks, insurers, and even major oil companies have all recognized the foolishness of trying to drill in the iconic Arctic Refuge coastal plain.”
The Arctic Refuge’s coastal plain—1.6 million acres of irreplaceable wilderness—is the calving ground of the Porcupine Caribou herd. Under the previous Trump administration, the Bureau of Land Management rushed through the most destructive leasing plan possible, opening the entire coastal plain to oil and gas development while ignoring both science and Indigenous voices calling for protections.
The 2024 ROD, finalized under then President Biden in December of last year, officially replaced the Trump administration’s 2020 leasing program. The Biden administration recognized flaws in the Trump-era plan, and how it was incompatible with protecting wildlife, Indigenous rights, and other Refuge mandates.
If passed, this resolution would inject uncertainty in future Arctic Refuge lease sales.
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Photo: Steven Kazlowski